Bleachers
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1294
Down 33% over 5 years
The verdict
Bleachers carry a danger score of 36/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 17,661 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 33% over the last five years.
- 36/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 17,661
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 2.6%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1294 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 36/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for bleachers - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume17,661 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)2.6%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-33%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Bleachers (CPSC product code 1294, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 17,661 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 353,224 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 36/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 33% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2010 (22,180 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (6,776 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for bleachers is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 35,146 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (31,654 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 157,663 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 2.6% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how bleachers fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 25,751 | 16,705 | |
| 5-14 | 97,387 | 60,205 | |
| 15-24 | 35,709 | 30,724 | |
| 25-34 | 5,032 | 9,507 | |
| 35-44 | 6,273 | 14,156 | |
| 45-54 | 5,439 | 10,146 | |
| 55-64 | 5,352 | 7,870 | |
| 65-74 | 4,609 | 8,726 | |
| 75+ | 3,687 | 5,881 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Arm | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
15 YOM C/O INJ TO FACE/UPPER ARM AFTER TRIP/FALL WHEN HE RAN INTO BLEACHERS AT SCHOOL DURING GYM CLASS DX ABRASION FOREHEAD, HUMERUS FX
12YOF PRESENTS WITH BUTTOCKS PAIN AFTER SITTING DOWN HARD ON SOME WOODEN BLEACHERS DX: CONTUSION OF BUTTOCKS
8 YOM HIT L 4TH FINGER ON BLEACHERS DX; FINGER SPRAIN
4 YOM WALKING ON THE BLEACHERS AT ABOUT 2-3 FEET HEIGHT WHEN HE FELL IN BETWEEN ONTO THE CONCRETE. DX CLOSED HEAD INJURY
15YOF PATIENT REPORTS THAT SHE TRIPPED OVER THE BLEACHERS LANDING ON HER ANKLE DX: CLOSED AVULSION FRACTURE OF RIGHT ANKLE
37 YOF WAS WATCHING A HOCKEY GAME THIS EVENING WHEN SHE FELT PAIN AFTER CLIMBING OVER THE STANDS AT THE GAME. DX: INTERNAL DERANGEMENT OF LEFT KNEE, FRACTURE PROXIMAL END OF LEFT TIBIA.
13 YOM SLIPPED ON BLEACHERS AT SCHOOL DX HEAD INJURY, CONCUSSION
13YOF WITH FALL ON BLEACHERS DX: LOWERL LEG PAIN
18YOM, COMPLAINING OF CHEST WALL PAIN AFTER WAS PUSHED INTO THE BLEACHERS, UNKNOWN MECHANISM, DX: RIB CONTUSION, LEFT, INITIAL ENCOUNTER
18YOF FELL ON BLEACHERS. C/O KNEE PAIN & LOWER LEG PAIN. DX: NONE
4YOM STANDING ON A BLEACHER 3FEET HEIGHT OFF THE GROUND AT SOCCER GAME AND FELL STRIKING HEAD ONTO THE GROUND NO LOSS OF CONSCIOUS, DX: HEAD INJURY; LACERATION OF SCALP
14YOF TWISTED HER ANKLE WALKING DOWN BLEACHERS. DX: FX ANKLE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to bleachers on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are bleachers?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, bleachers have a danger score of 36/100 (low risk). An estimated 17,661 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from bleachers?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 35,146 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from bleachers increasing or decreasing?
Down 33% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for bleachers injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 157,663 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by bleachers?
Of all ER visits involving bleachers, approximately 2.6% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.4%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with bleachers?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 36/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
